Casting operations involving molten materials such as zinc and zinc alloys are often carried out using a transfer conduit, commonly called "nozzle", which is trapped in a mechanical combination between a gooseneck spout and a mold or mold bushing. The nozzle is heated to prevent freezing of the molten material in the interior bore thereof, such heating being accomplished, for example, by a gas-fired torch which is trained upon a localized area of the nozzle. In order to maintain the body of the nozzle, typically made of steel, at a sufficiently high temperature to prevent freezing, the temperature of the locally heated area is necessarily very high. Several problems can result from this localized heating; one is the increased possibility of developing a hole from the through-bore to the exterior of the nozzle body due to rapid erosion of the nozzle body along grain boundaries. Since the molten material on the interior is under pressure, a potentially dangerous situation is produced by such holes from which high-pressure streams of molten material can be emitted. Another problem is the mechanical distortion of the nozzle body which can result due to the localized high heating and the compression forces that the nozzle must withstand when placed in the aforementioned combination with the spout and mold or mold bushing.